lab

You can already buy an infrared camera, but only if you have hundreds of dollars to sink into the purchase. An inexpensive infrared-modified camera, originally developed by Public Lab to monitor damage to wetlands after the BP oil spill, is now available through Kickstarter.

The Infragram project has already handily topped its $30,000 goal and gives you several different options for obtaining a cheap infrared camera. You can do it yourself and modify your own camera for $10, buy a pre-modified bare-bones Webcam for $35, or buy a ready-to-use point-and-shoot camera for $95.… Read more

Logitech, a company focused on selling tech accessories, has acquired a company that got its start on Kickstarter.

TT Design Labs was founded a little under two years ago by Derek Tarnow and Zahra Tashakorinia. The company's first product was an iPhone accessory, known as TidyTilt, that doubled as both a stand for easier viewing of the iPhone, as well as a case protector. The TidyTilt could also handle the wrapping of earbud cords to keep everything, well, tidy.

To get off the ground, TT Design Labs brought the concept to Kickstarter, where it raised more than 2,000 … Read more

DxO Labs released FilmPack 4 Wednesday, a new version of its software for photographers fond of the retro film look made possible by Instagram and similar filter-effect apps.

The software goes well beyond the usual sepia-tone and cyanotype effects. It's based on precise measurements of 60 specific types of film -- everything from Fuji Velvia to Kodak Tri-X -- to quickly endow digital photos with an old-school analog look.

Some might call it a throwback or gimmick, but plenty of shooters such as wedding photographers like such tools for quickly adding a little character or flavor.

New to the … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Film crew to dig up Atari landfill site, maybe score 3.5 million copies of E.T.

- The opposite of standing desks: the computer workstation for the person with everything.

- Unlocking The Truth is the most brutal sixth grade metal band ever.

- Hatebeak: a death metal band fronted by a parrot.

- Ex-military snipers called into shoot feral goats from helicopters to protect Galapagos Tortoise population.… Read more

When they make 3D-printed meat look like this, we'll be impressed. These dainty sugar confections are the work of husband and wife team Kyle and Liz von Hasseln. They hit upon the idea when they wanted to make a birthday cake for a friend, but as graduate students, didn't have an oven.

After being awarded the very first Gehry Prize at the Southern California Institute of Architecture for developing a method of 3D printing that used UV light to cure photo-initiated resin, they took their $100,000 prize and set up shop in L.A. to create 3D-printed … Read more

DxO Labs has named Samsung's Galaxy S4 a new winner in its mobile-phone camera tests.

The French firm, which specializes in camera optics and image sensor analysis, gave the new Android phone a score of 75 this week, edging out the iPhone 5 at 72. The top scorer is the Nokia 808 Pureview at 77, but that model is hobbled by its Symbian operating system, a commercial failure compared to Apple's iOS in the iPhone and Google's Android in the Galaxy S4.

Perhaps Nokia will have better commercial success with its rumored "Eos" phone, which … Read more

Amid questions to Google from Congress about privacy concerns related to Google Glass, a San Francisco startup is preparing an API to recognize faces with the controversial gadget.

The Google Glass Face Recognition API (application programming interface) from Lambda Labs will be available to developers within a week, TechCrunch tells us, quoting co-founder Stephen Balaban. … Read more

Google is opening a new research lab to see if a quantum computer can solve problems too taxing for traditional computers.

Hosted by NASA's Ames Research Center, the new Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab will be home to a quantum computer made by D-Wave Systems. Operated by the Universities Space Research Association, the supercomputer will be available to researchers around the world to work on their own projects.

The goal, as stated in a Google blog posted today, is "to study how quantum computing might advance machine learning."

Traditional computers are limited, as they think in terms of … Read more

The beautiful LED keyboard backlight is perhaps one of the most beloved features of Mac laptops. With Lab Tick for Mac, users can now fine-tune their settings to customize this feature.

Installation of this app is a very easy drag-and-drop process. The interface is very straightforward and rudimentary, too. Once installed, Lab Tick for Mac will sit very conveniently on top of the menu bar while running in the background. When you click the icon on top of the menu bar, a slider will pop up, allowing you to adjust the brightness of your keyboard backlight. For the adventurous users, … Read more